This is an
important car. Not just for Renault (which owns Dacia) but for the punter. With
Renault’s financial might and marketing muscle behind it, the Dacia Sandero
will become successful. That means other manufacturers are going to have to
re-look the idea of budget brands.
Both SEAT
and Skoda were initially regarded as budget brands, but look at them now, well
built, well established and taking business away from factory siblings.
Renault will
not make that mistake with the Dacia brand. It is being built for less
sophisticated markets with poorer infrastructure. So it has to be built strong
and reliable. More robust engineering and less electronics should also make it
more reliable.
French cars
have long had a reputation for good basic engineering but poor electrics.
Although the electronics issue has mostly been resolved, the reputation sticks,
so the less complicated Dacia might just be seen as being a more attractive
ownership proposition. And now it's in the UK, at a price of £5995!
There are three
engines, to choose from including a new three-cylinder 0.9 TCe 90 petrol and
1.5 dCi 90, both with ECO mode, and the current 1.2 petrol 16V 75. A 3 year/60,000
mile warranty is standard with the option to extend to five- and seven-year warranties.
Compared to
current cars in the Supermini class it might not have the creature comforts
that one might expect, but it does have five seats with a 60/40 split folding
rear seat and power assisted steering. There’s no radio, but it comes pre-wired
for an accessory fit radio and speaker system. ABS with Emergency Brake Assist,
ASR traction control, ESC (Electronic Stability Control), driver, passenger and
front side airbags and ISOFIX points in both outer rear seats are all standard.
However, there will be two additional trim levels offering more kit, but that adds to the price. And it will be interesting to see how the great British public react to this new less-frills approach to cheap motoring.
The charm of
the Sandero is that although it might be bought as a second car, many people
will be tempted to use it as their first car - and then buy another one for
their second car.
A two-car family for 12 grand? That has to be tempting – and leaves
all the more to spend on the weekend hoolie weapon.
Thanks for this John - looks ok to me. And the performance is perfectly satisfactory for a run-around. But unfortunately it's a LOT more to upgrade to either of the more fuel efficient engines. Why does no one offer an LPG equipped car these days?? LPG is half the cost of petrol and is by far the most economic way to go motoring.
ReplyDeleteAye, but even the upgrades still make it cheap compared to what else is around. I haven't driven the Sandero yet but I was impressed with the Duster, no bumps, rattles or squeaks. As for LPG, just when it was getting popular the Government slapped more tax on it which rather knocked it's appeal on the head and made the fuel companies think twice about investing in the infrastructure. It's the same with electric cars - all these grants and nowhere to plug them in.
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